1. Field of the invention.
This invention relates to flower pots and more particularly to dual interlocking containers for potted plants.
It is well known that the health of foilage plants depends primarily on the quantity of water in the soil. Without sufficient moisture in the vicinity of plant roots in the plant radium, maintaining plant growth and vigor becomes extremely difficult. Often time plants are overwatered in an effort to compensate for the lack of humidity in the immediate vicinity of the plant environment which would encourage healthy development of plants.
This overwatering drowns the root structure of the plant resulting in water logging and stagnation which is detrimental to plant life and growth.
It is highly desirable therefore, to provide a manner of watering plants and yet prevent water stagnation in the bottom portion of plant pots or containers particularly where the roots are.
Many different methods have been employed for drainage of excess water applied to a potted plant, but generally all such devices suffer from certain disadvantages and shortcomings requiring extensive maintenance or immediate attention for draining containers at the bottom of the plant which generally holds a limited amount of excess water applied to the plant.
The device of this invention overcomes these disadvantages and shortcomings and provides a dual wall container formed by separable containers which retains excess water draining from the inner container and enhances the relative humidity surrounding the foilage by evaporation of the excess water.
2. Description of the prior art.
Dual wall plant containers are well known and are exemplifed pay the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 153,715 issued Aug. 4, 1874 to Landers for FLOWER-POTS, U.S. Pat. No. 2,722,779 issued Nov. 8, 1955 to Allderdice for POT FOR GROWING PLANTS UNDER WATER CULTURE, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,050 issued May 5, 1981 to Buescher for FLOWER POT WITH CONTROLLED MOISTURE.
These patents generally disclose a smaller pot disposed within a larger outer pot in which water draining from the soil medium within the inner pot passes into the outer pot and usually includes a saucer or shallow pan which collects and retains excess moisture draining from the pots or as in the Buescher patent the flower container may be a unitary member having hollow walls and a bottom drainage which passes excess water to a saucer-like shallow pan underlying the unitary container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,532 issued Aug. 31, 1982 to Peterson for PLANTER and U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,119 issued Sep. 3, 1991 to Hougard for FLOWERPOT BOWL are believed good examples of the further state-of-the-art.
The Peterson patent disclosing a unitary divided flower pot in which one compartment of the pot receives excess moisture from the soil containing compartment and evaporates it to the atmosphere through upwardly open apertures.
The Hougard patent discloses dual flower pots, one disposed within the other with the inner pot bottom resting on the bottom of the outer pot and forming an annulus between the pot walls which collects moisture falling from above and evaporates it to the atmosphere for enhancing the humidity within the vicinity of the contained plant.
This invention is distinctive over the above patents by providing a dual wall plant container in which an inner container defines an annulus between adjacent walls of the containers and is supported within the outer container in releasable interlockable relation by lugs on the top rims of the containers.